Jeremy Maclin gets a contract offer

Jettison DeSean, trade arguably the best RB in the game who still has years before he hits 30 for a young linebacker. Okay, so Kiko is young and very promising and it frees up lots of cap space. Might not be the greatest thing to lose Shady but…okay, Chip has a vision! Trent Cole was beloved sure, but he was old! Makes economic sense to cut him!

But let Maclin walk? Maclin was the best WR on the team and they had more than enough cap space to make him happy and get some pickups. Then they apparently try to sign Frank Gore, who as of this writing has gotten cold feet and is considering elseware, but a 31 year old tank RB on the twilight years of his career isn’t a replacement for Shady to begin with. They did sign Byron Maxwell, which fills a hole in their secondary but now they have RB problems, SEVERE WR problems (#1 wideout Riley “Fight every N***er in here” Cooper-lol), they still have holes in the secondary, D line, and the QB situation is concerning. Does Chip try and make do with Foles (who I actually have some faith in, but a lot of people have suddenly discounted) or trade the farm for Mariota and give up so many draft picks that should fill their now gaping roster holes? The Eagles were a few pieces from being a genuine contender, now they almost appear to be rebuilding. I’ve seen a lot of Eagles fans drinking the Chip Kool-aid and talking about how CHIP KNOWS WHAT HE’S DOING. CHIP IS A GENIUS. CHIP KELLY JUST NEEDS PLAYERS FOR HIS SYSTEM.

It feels like Eagles fans are trying to convince themselves it’ll all be okay. I can’t blame them. I’m almost drinking the Kool-Aid too, because Chip is still a bit of an unknown quantity. He hasn’t had the opportunity to truly control and build the team he wants until now, and now things are chaos. The Eagles have so thoroughly dismantled themselves I’m afraid to celebrate and cheer because what if Chip actually is a genius? One thing is for sure, these moves have made a lot of fans really nervous, and if the Eagles don’t turn around expectations within two years and genuinely compete, I think everyone is going to turn on Chip really fast.

I’d rather enjoy that so I hope it happens. I honestly also kind of hope they trade the farm for Mariota. It’ll at least make things really interesting.

Edit: THEY JUST TRADED FOLES FOR SAM “NO KNEES” BRADFORD
CHIP WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING

Discussion (34) ¬

To an extent I understand letting Maclin walk. Man has only played 16 games once in the last three seasons, and Matthews looked good as a rookie, especially a rookie catching Sanchize balls. Still disagree, but I kinda get it.

I feel like we’re standing at a crossroads in Chip Kelly’s legacy. I think it’s becoming clearer and clearer that betting the farm on Mariota is more likely than not, and this can go one of two ways:

The disaster everyone’s thinking, where the Eagles are in ruins, Roseman and Chip are both fired with extreme force, and Chip goes down as another college coach who shouldn’t have come to the NFL because he couldn’t adapt, but just like Saban and Kush and Wilkinson, does not have a tarnished college legacy, and probably returns to coach another team to success and glory. Or,

Chip turns out to be a genius, Mariota and Alonso end up some of the best players in the league in a few years, the Eagles turn out to have a very deep, next-man-up roster that works beautifully, Chip coaches them to a Superbowl or two in the next five years, and he goes down as an innovative genius who brought the rushed spread offense and the running quarterback to the NFL to stay.

Considering the latter option requires the Eagles to win a Superbowl, I’d bet on the former. But make no mistake, this year is make or break for Chip Kelly, because he’s officially done caring about outside opinion and is only concerned with crafting that team in his image.

As an outsider living in Philly, the consensus seems to be this: whatever happens, it won’t be boring. Either Chip Kelly is a mastermind that is crazy like a fox, or Chip Kelly is a college coach who got a whiff of power in the NFL and decided to go on an ego trip that set back his franchise 5 years. And we get to find out this season.

Jackson was a locker room headache in Philly and has already proved to be one in DC as well. There’s value in having a cohesive locker room, even at the expense of a talented player.

McCoy absolutely looked like he lost a step this year, and there’s zero guarantee he gets it back next year. He was always a dancer who preferred making guys miss for the chance at a big play rather than hitting the hole that was already there for a solid 6 yards.

Maclin is now the 7th highest paid receiver in the league to my knowledge. Can you honestly say that he’s the 7th best receiver in the league? He’s had one 1,000 yard season in his career, which was last year. He’s had two ACL surgeries. He’s a very good receiver, and a capable number 1, but there’s something to be said for not grossly overpaying for someone just because other teams are willing to do so. Also, for the record, Cooper will be behind both Josh Huff and Jordan Matthews on the depth chart this season at receiver.

One point that people always seem to miss about his college experience is that coming from college means Kelly is used to roster turnover. At best, every 4 years you have an entirely new roster. Often the best players leave even sooner than that. He’s used to having to see contributing players leave and finding new talent to replace their production. That doesn’t mean he’ll have no loyalty to good players, but he won’t be afraid of letting a guy walk who wants too much, or trading a guy when he sees his trade value exceed his production in the future. You can joke all you want about his Oregon bias, but odds are there will be 5 or fewer Ducks on the 53 man roster next year (even if they trade up for Mariota which I believe they will).

Been a KC fan all my life. Watched former GM Scott Pioli (and others) sit on his hands for over a decade in QB and other skill positions. Every draft for years we always picked up a random OL guy when we desperately needed a QB or WR. We only signed castoffs from NE and the Browns for years.

John Dorsey and Andy Reid come in and trade for Alex Smith, who I love, aren’t afraid to trim the fat, and sign guys like Maclin. I would have liked Cobb, but I’ll take Maclin any day over the half dozen no names that wonder the field on game day in KC. Nice to see a GM/coach combo that tries very hard to remedy the problems and aren’t afraid to make big moves.

Hear, hear. Watching some of those seasons with Matt “I’m a Great Person but a Shitty QB” Cassel was downright PAINFUL, but every year, we heard the same line of nonsense of “Cassel will get better, we just need a few key additions.” Those key additions turned out to be Glenn Dorsey or Tyson Jackson.

This coming draft though, we’ve got a veritable bounty of picks, plus made a splashy FA signing (see comic) and drafted a few other positions of need so we’re a young NFL team, and we’re going to hopefully be a powerhouse in only a few short years from now.

“trade the farm for Mariota and give up so many draft picks that should fill their now gaping roster holes”

As a Cowboys fan I can only hope this is what Chip does. I also think Foles is a much better option and the Eagles would be foolish to trade him and draft picks away for Mariota, so hopefully that’s what they do.

“trade the farm for Mariota and give up so many draft picks that should fill their now gaping roster holes”

As a Cowboys fan I can only hope this is what Chip does. I also think Foles is a much better option and the Eagles would be foolish to trade him and draft picks away for Mariota, so hopefully that’s what they do.

I agree with Hachi, whatever happens, it won’t be boring. I said in your McCoy-Alonso trade comic that the Bills were bigger winner I know but IF Alonso turns out to be a good (not great) player and Maxwell turns out to be a good (not great) corner, that may even the playing field. Missing Gore hurts, but too bad. Gore is good but he has been carrying that Niner offense long enough to make you wonder how much he has left. The Maclin deal? Puzzling. Trying to figure out what Chip is doing makes my head hurt.

I think you’re being generous if you think the fans in Philly will give him two years. If the Eagles show any regression, I think Chip the fans turn on him quick. Maybe if they end up with Mariota the fan base will be willing to wait a bit, but I would question even that. The expectation now, fair or not, is that if you deserve to be a franchise QB, you’ll succeed in your first year.

It’s obvious as to what they’re doing. It takes little to figure out. He’s almost literally trying to bring the Ducks to the NFL. By this I mean players who’re familar with him, his offense, and his defense. He can’t so easily set about this with the players he’s already got…so, shop them for picks, and draft the players who know his style well. Mariotta being the first of many.

Today Chip has officially crossed the threshold. It was getting dicey, but even after letting Maclin walk, he could’ve turned around and just been a normal coqch. Not anymore; trading Foles away is the point of no return. We’re about to either witness the dawn of NFL legends, or see the Eagles fall to ruins.

Welp, Chip Kelly is an idiot.
First, he cuts his number 1 WR. Then, he trades Shady for a 3rd-year linebacker coming off an ACL tear.
Then, he trades his star QB and 4th and 2nd round picks for an older QB coming off of 2 torn ACLs and a 5th round pick. And, on top of that, he lets his formerly-number 2-now-number 1 WR walk.

All that for a 5th round pick and 2 guys coming off ACL tears.

What is going on in this man’s mind.

Also, there’s no way the Jets are trading that pick now, because they aren’t getting Foles.